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The economy’s turning the corner, and other fairy tales

My president tells us that 80 percent of the nation wants an increase in taxes. Huh? Where’s he getting that number from? Rasmussen’s poll tells us that 55 percent are against an increase. I believe that the half of America who do not pay tax are in favor of an increase. Why not? Any percent more than nothing is still nothing and that’s what they pay … nothing. What’s it to them if you and I have to pay more?

Hey there, Mr. Raisman. Did you know that over the past year Americans received about $17 billion in unemployment insurance benefits? And that according to the Labor Department, 11.6 percent of the total was obtained illegally. A lot of money was paid out to people who claimed benefits for which they were not eligible, and many continued to cash checks even after they found a job. I am very much in favor of cutting unemployment insurance fraud, even though I am not in favor of cutting unemployment benefits. So Mr. R, in response to your letter, don’t you agree that this waste of taxpayer money should be dealt with?

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The unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent as employers added 117,000 jobs in July. Chairwoman of the Democrat National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, tells us that we have “turned the corner.” Really? I think we’ve heard this before. On Feb. 7, 2010, President Obama said “We are seeing the corner turn on the economy.” On April 2, 2010, he said, “We are turning the corner.” On March 9 of this year, President Obama said, “We’re turning the corner.”

How many jobs were created one month later? NONE! Zero, bupkis, nada, zip. I have a feeling that the only corner he is turning is the corner of Kings Highway and Nostrand Avenue.

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During this wilted economy most of us have had to do a bit of belt-tightening. Even the tooth fairy is reducing expenditures. The Denver Post did the research and recently reported that the average sum left under a child’s pillow for a lost tooth dropped from three bucks last year to $2.60 now. We’ll talk about the Easter Bunny this spring.

On the other hand, donations to charity are on the way up. The totals are in and, after two years of declines, Americans gave 4 percent more in 2010 than they did the year before. But before you run to write that next check to your favorite charity you might want to click on to CharityNavigator.org.

I was shocked to learn that I was donating to organizations that merit only two stars out of four. No more.

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Dear Dog Lovers: Your loyal Doberman is having the time of his life running around your backyard. One day, for whatever reason, King gets loose, runs up the street, and bites your neighbor’s child. We pray that the little guy is OK, but even if he is, that’s the beginning of a lawsuit. We know that you have a homeowner’s insurance policy but are you covered for this?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, dogs bite 4.7 million people a year and cause 800,000 injuries. Some insurance companies will not cover you for what they call “high-risk” dogs, such as pit bulls. Others will not cover you at all. And some have you paying for dog liability coverage even if you don’t have one. I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net telling you to read your policy carefully.